<< Click to Display Table of Contents >> Navigation:  Nodes > Tasks > Encoders > H264

 

Purpose

 

To create media files using the H264 software based  encoder. This task node is slower and more limited than modern GPU encoders (NVidia H264 & Nvidia H265), but it can be a good solution for systems not having an Nvidia GPU. (If your GPU is NVIDIA you should not use this node, instead use the NVIDIA versions).

 

Inputs

 

AV In: The image track to be encoded.

 

Ext. Audio (Optional): The audio tracks to be encoded. Alternatively, you can use embedded audio from movie files connected to the AV In connector, which is decided with the Use AV audio property.

 

Outputs

 

AV Out: A video file with .mp4 extension, containing the video and audio tracks.

 

 

Standard properties

 

Object Name

Color

Bypass

Dst. File Path

Lock

Name Convention

 

Standard Encoder properties

Use AV audio

Existing Outputs

Enable Frame Range (FirstFrame, Duration)

Resolution

Fit

Framerate

interlaced

Deinterlace mode

Pixel Aspect Ratio

Overwrite TC

Drop Frame

Rotation Metadata

Stereo Mode

Audio Codec

Metadata

Export Metadata

TapeName

Export CDL

Pack Audio Tracks

Write RND Only

Render Farm

 

 

Advanced image processes

Metadata

Unicolor

Lut3D

Display Filter

Burn In / Slate

 

 

 

Node specific properties

 

Note: This node is a basic H264 encoder. For more advanced encoders check the NVidia H264 & Nvidia H265 task nodes.

 

Codec: The H264 variant to be encoded.

 

Bitrate: This field allows to change the output bitrate.

 

GOP frames (Group of Frames): It is the number of intermediate frames between keyframes. Keyframes use intra-frame compression (so they don’t depend on previous or next frames). Meanwhile, GOP frames use time compression and motion estimation, so they only store differences between previous and next frames.  For editing purposes, it is recommended to use a small GOP value (ideally 1). This will produce bigger sizes for a same quality but it will provide instant access to any frame when you load it in other applications, while also avoiding motion estimation artifacts. Longer GOP values will reduce file sizes and they can make a more efficient usage of the available bitrate, but if an artifact happens in one frame then the video images will not recover the affected area until approaching the next keyframe, so long GOP artifacts can be very noticeable.

 

Audio codec: The audio inputs can be embedded into the mp4 file (Audio in Movie) or in a separate file (Wav, Aiff, w64, caf, rf64). Please note that some audio formats are limited in size by their own specifications.

 

Color Space: Default: ---Same as Input--- (no changes).  This permits to apply a color space transformation. This property permits to define the color space to be encoded. Choosing a particular color space from the list will select the destination Gamma curve and Gamut standard corresponding to it. Alternatively, it is also possible to select the option ---Custom Standard----, which will show two extra properties to select the gamma curve and gamut standard to be used separately.

 

IMPORTANT NOTE: For the color spaces conversion to work the workflow will also need to know the original color space of the input clip, which has to specified in the Color Space properties of the input clip.  In some cases the input clip node will set correct values for these properties by default, but in many other cases it has to be set by the user.

 

[mcp]

On Windows and Linux systems this node should never be used "by default", as those platforms support the NvidiaH264 node that is much faster and more capable. Use the Nvidia H264 node instead.

[/mcp]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Developer reference (API Rest - node/H264/property/[Property ID])